Page 77 of Rising

You cannot run from wolves, not for long anyway. I realized that. But wolves were simply undomesticated dogs. If you give them a better option, they’d happily redirect. The game of switcheroo was simple enough.

“I’ve got an idea. Follow me,” I said, sprinting back the direction we’d just come.

Their howls were on our ass just as Moe had described. The sound of their heavy paws pounding on the ground beneath them, getting closer with each passing second. Nervous laughter escaped my lips as I recalled that the moment you hear a wolf howl, they’re a hell of a lot closer than you think.

Reina and I were in agreement, both not wanting to use our magic against the creatures we both loved and respected, not wanting to hurt an animal whose territory we’d pranced into. We tossed out small tokens of our power, enough to cause a yelp and create some distance. Just something to buy us time.

“Keep going, don’t stop. Just stay with me,” I shouted over the passing wind.

The Pansies were within view now,if I could see them… Heads snapped up, eyes lasering in on us.Perfect timing.

I hopped over tree stumps protruding from the ground. They’d turned to run right at us, and I prayed my plan would work, a classic monster versus monster. At the last second, right as I was within grasp, I cut in between a narrow parting between trees. The movement was too quick for their uncoordinated bodies but not my friends.

As The Pansies tripped up at the turn, the wolves intercepted them, a series of yelps and long groans filling the forest air. We left it behind, running as far as we could until the air in our lungs burned from the speed and elevation.

We regrouped in our defensive circle as I checked in, making sure everyone was okay. No one was hurt, but we needed water and a moment to figure out where we were. Reina sat on top of her bag, opening her canteen and chugging it down.

Seth pulled his compass from her pocket, moving towards Alexiares as they debated which way to go. Moe had joined Reina, motioning me to follow. The moment my knees bent, something flew over the top of my head, pulling a few of my curls, stunning me as drops of blood landed in my lap.

“What was that?” Reina asked, peering up from the noise before gaping at the blood gushing from my head.

“What is with these woods? You gotta be shittin’ me,” Seth groaned, scrambling to pull me to my feet.

Two more arrows whirled past, landing cinematically in the stumps of the trees behind us. I felt dizzy, looking at the blur of the world and seeing the others scan the perimeter, desperately trying to spot the perpetrator.

“We’re in Yosemite. Feral people hunted these lands long before the undead. I imagine the situation has only turned more dire now.” Alexiares mumbled a cryptic explanation.

The next arrow sent the group diving into two, splitting off into separate directions, a group of wild men coming from the brush. Seth, Tomoe, and Reina one way, Alexiares and I in the other.

Adrenaline took over, my vision becoming crystal clear once more. Alexiares kept my pace, one step behind me as we shouted off warnings of danger. An extra set of steps thudded at my rear, risking a glance behind me as Alexiares growled angry words of encouragement not to look back.

“There’s two on us,” he signaled for me to make a sharp left.

It would have worked, had they not known the woods better than us. They split off, pushing us towards a downed tree large enough we’d have to take effort to move over.

We’d have to fight our way out.

Weak bursts of flame flew out towards me and I grinned, letting my flames encase my body, showing what I was capable of. Remembering I could start a brush fire, I dimmed them. The distraction giving them the advantage as I felt an arm close in on my throat from behind, cutting off my air supply. Under normal circumstances, I’d have a little under four minutes to fight my way out of this, but the air at this elevation served as a disadvantage. I risked my flames again, desperate only for them to be doused by the water flowing from the arms tightening around my neck.

I felt my eyes go wide, darting around frantically. Alexiares was caught in his own battle, a feral man lunging at him, teeth snapping, somehow more savage than Pansies themselves. He dodged him, emulating the very move I’d used to take him down during our first spar.

Hands tugged at the waist of my pants. Throwing my head back, my skull connected with the jaw behind me. A man’s voice rang out in pain, as my head lightened from the effort. The man didn’t let go. He sought a tighter grip as the man in front of me drove a fist hard into my torso, limiting my air even more. Forcing my body forward.

I hooked my leg behind his, using all the momentum I could to throw myself forward, wiggling free from the aggressor in front as I reached for the ankle behind me. He let go for a moment. With his balance gone, I was pulled down with him.

His arms re-secured around my neck, the man in front pulled, tugging my legs straight again. His long nails on his rough fingers met the skin under my shirt, scraping the skin as I let out a guttural yell. Blood seeped to the surface from the raw scratches on my stomach down to the lower part of my waistline.

I felt helpless, thrashing like a fish out of water. You can be a great fighter all you want, but the angrier a man gets, the more their adrenaline takes over. Each passing moment is precious, valuable, if you want to get yourself out of the situation. And my window was closing. I had to fight not one man, but two.

I gave up trying to take on both at once, opting another method and putting my energy on one at a time. My hands reached out, grabbing what I could and using my magic to send a twig into the eye of the beast behind me. He didn’t give up, but his grip loosened a bit.Good. Suddenly, he went limp. My eyes darted to where Alexiares had been fighting, and took in the slumped, unmoving man. His body twisted into an unnatural position.

A wet slush rang through the air. The man behind me gurgled, choking, warm liquid flowing from his mouth and dripping onto the part in my hair, resting on my scalp. He sunk towards the ground as my hands found the soil. Using the momentum, I tossed out a kick, pushing it into the neck of the man in front of me, his windpipe crushed as he gasped for air. In one motion, I moved to straddle him, my own knife moving swiftly across his throat.

“Piece of shit,” I spat at him.

Alexiares watched me, wiping off his knife and trying to take in my injuries in the shadows of the dark forest. The small clearing a few feet from our right side being the only grace of light from the moon now high in the sky. I glanced down, taking in the now disconnected fingers from the attacker who’d grabbed me from behind.

“He did not deserve to die with his hands intact. Not for what he had planned.”

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